Month: September 2016

I love cats. And I especially love kittens. The kitten below was one of my favorites. She and her brother started out as sick little runts since their mother wasn’t doing well and we couldn’t get to them. After weeks of care, I was able to bring them to good health and seriously, she is one of the most beautiful cats we have. She is a white and tabby long furred cat with the sweetest personality.

The following poem is my story of my dear Savior’s Love, redemption, and grace. There are so many hurting people that look fine on the outside, but inwardly are crumbling to their very core. It happens to all of us at some time or other. And it is only Jesus that can truly heal us and bring us the peace we yearn for. It doesn’t come from going to church or living as good as possible in your own strength. His peace comes when we ask for it out of a sincere heart.

I love cartoons. They’re crazy and can easily stretch the story. The story behind the picture, is slightly different from the picture.

Several of my siblings and I were playing volleyball one evening and my one brother was checking to see if the hay was dry enough to bale. To check the moisture content, he stuck it in a microwave and zapped it… and then I don’t know what. So, we were outside playing, when my brother came hurrying out of the farm shop, set something on the ground behind his cattle trailer and grabbed the hose and started spraying full bore at it. An enormous cloud of smoke and steam ascended from behind the trailer.

“Um, is everything all right?” another brother called to him.

“Yeah, I guess I left the hay in the microwave a minute too long.” Came the calm reply.

It wasn’t til later, that I found out that the hay had started smoldering and so he quickly carried it out side and grabbed the hose. When he turned around, flames were leaping three feet high from the small pile of “dried” hay. Yes, it was dry enough… and maybe a little extra that time?!

When my Grandpa’s birthday came up this year, I decided to draw a picture of Grandma for him. As I was drawing and shading, I became quite nervous about the outcome – she just didn’t look like the grandma I knew! I didn’t know what to do but keep on. And I’m so glad I did. As soon as I put her mouth in (I always do the mouth last), I suddenly saw my dear Grandma looking back at me. It was a neat transformation of the picture I had just previously felt like throwing in the trash.

Here’s how it went:

The sketchEasy part done!My grandma?? um!Complete!

So here’s a bit of advice to any of you who are artists, and those who want to be but feel like you’re failing. Keep on until the picture is complete. If you put your mind to it, chances are slim that it will be a complete flop. Patience is something that any artist must have. Hours of work can turn a blank sheet of paper, into a beautiful picture.

“He that can have patience can have what he will.”

Benjamin Franklin

Something I do to keep my mind stimulated (and keep me from getting bored after thirty minutes), is to listen to music. But don’t listen to really fast or slow music. Fast music makes me feel like I can’t work fast enough and becomes overwhelming. Slow music drags me down until I feel like jumping up and down and throwing the picture at the wall. Figure out what works best with you, and good luck!

My Grandma was a very special person to me. When I would go visit her, she would read me all my favorite stories… especially Little Brown Koko or The Berenstain Bears’ Moving Day. And her basement had the best toys!

Jesus took her home in the spring of 2012 after a battle with lung cancer. But her legacy still lives on and even today, she is a godly inspiration to me. She was a sweet woman, with a kind heart – the sort of lady I want to be.

For speakers and musicians who perform on stage, it is easy to want a large crowd. But no one can ever draw as big an audience into the largest hall in the world, as just a little five-year-old singing her heart out to God in her own backyard. Because God is the greatest audience a person could ever have. And he doesn’t just slouch in his chair! He loves to hear the voices of his loved ones.

“God is the greatest audience you can ever have.”

It is easy to think that we want a large following, and maybe we want the glory to go to God, but who are we truly performing to: God or people? Of course, it can be both. But I believe that we often miss the realization of, who are we performing to? We want to perform for God, but how often to we perform to him?

The audience before you is only a fraction of the size of the audience which you can’t see. God is everywhere and we have direct access to him at any minute of the day. He is truly great. God loves it when we minister to others for his glory. He lives in the brothers and sisters around us. But he also loves it when we do something directly to him . I personally love singing to my Jesus! He is the greatest, and he deserves the best that I can offer.

As we go about our normal lives, let’s truly do “each word or deed” to God. When God is in us, he promises to be with us. He lives in the Christians around us. Let’s remember to do everything as if it were to him. Would we be rude or mean or spiteful to Jesus?? God receives love directly from our heart to his. But He receives it also directly from us through how we treat other people. Let me leave you with these verses.

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me… Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.